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Johannesburg Travel Guide

Johannesburg Travel Guide

Affectionately dubbed Jozi, Johannesburg is a young,
vibrant and exciting city which showcases the best that South
Africa's urban culture has to offer:

Built on the wealth of the gold beneath its streets, the
remarkable city of Johannesburg mushroomed from nothing to a modern
metropolis in just over a century. There are wonderful restaurants,
fascinating township tours, fantastic shopping
opportunities, and the chance of exciting excursions to such
diverse attractions as glitzy casinos, game parks and prehistoric
fossil fields. The city illustrates the desperate inequality that
characterises South African society, and the combination of
palatial homes in glamorous suburbs and sprawling shanty towns is
interesting and challenging for visitors. Crime is a serious
problem, but Johannesburg is a proud city and some of the most
exciting of the city's attractions can be found in the 'township'
areas where creativity and innovation manage to triumph over
poverty. Johannesburg is also a good place to learn about South
Africa's Apartheid history, with some great museums and tours
dedicated to the subject.

Johannesburg is the gateway to South Africa's top game parks,
and many who enter the country here would be well-advised to spend
a few days holiday in Johannesburg to experience this vibrant city
before or after they hit the bush.

Best time to visit Johannesburg

Summer in Johannesburg is between December and February, and
perhaps the best time to travel to the city is over the Festive
season (December/January) when South African schools are on their
summer break and the city tends to empty out as residents head to
the coast for their holidays. This leaves Johannesburg's
attractions uncrowded and accessible under a hot African sky, with
late afternoon thunderstorms that cool things down. Winter days are
also beautiful and sunny, but nights can be very cold. Read more on
Johannesburg's
Climate and Weather.

What to see in Johannesburg

-Take a tour of Constitution
Hill for insight into South Africa's turbulent legal
history.

What to do in Johannesburg

-Treat the kids to a fun day out and explore a mine at Gold Reef City theme park.

-Take an excursion to Lost City,
the famous casino, resort and waterpark just outside the city.

Beyond Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the most common entry point for foreign visitors
to South Africa and is well-situated to be a travel hub,
particularly to the country's biggest and most popular national
parks which attract tourists wanting the safari experience. The
Kruger National Park, undoubtedly
one of the best game viewing destinations in the world, is a short
flight or a five hour drive from the city. For those interested in
the origins and history of the human species the Cradle of Humankind, just outside of
Johannesburg, is a must.

Getting there

Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport, situated 14
miles (22km) east of the city, is the main gateway to South Africa,
with connecting flights to most other tourist destinations in the
country. The newly-built Gautrain provides fast and convenient
transport into the city. Get more information on Airports in
Johannesburg.

Did you know?

-Johannesburg is one of the youngest major cities in the
world.

-About 40 percent of the planet's ancient human ancestor fossils
have been found in the Johannesburg area.

-With more than 10 million trees, Johannesburg often tops lists
of the most treed cities in the world.

The capital of South Africa's smallest province, Gauteng,
Johannesburg is the economic powerhouse of Africa with its
ever-growing suburban sprawl creeping outwards from the central
city skyscrapers and ring-road motorways. The more than 10-million
inhabitants live fast and have a restless spirit, which they have
imparted into the fabric of the city, also known by its African
name as Egoli, 'the place of gold'. The development of the city,
which is just over a century old, has followed the fortunes of the
Witwatersrand (White Water Reef), the rich gold-bearing rock reef
that stretches across this area of central South Africa. The
initial gold rush started in the 1880s, and barely ten years later
Johannesburg had become South Africa's largest town and the site of
frenzied development that has been ongoing ever since.

Johannesburg today is a city of contrasts, with glass-paned
modern luxury high-rises towering beside a few remaining
dilapidated Victorian buildings, and affluent northern suburbs with
stunning private homes behind high fences giving way to the squalid
streets and tiny shoebox houses of the massive Soweto township in
the south. The chasm between rich and poor in the city has given
rise to a high crime rate, evidenced by the fortress-like security
that pervades the wealthier suburbs.

Most visitors to South Africa, particularly those intent on
exploring the game reserves of Mpumalanga, arrive at Johannesburg's
busy OR Tambo International Airport, which is the main point of
entry for the country. Traditionally Johannesburg itself is not
seen as a tourist destination but the fast-paced metropolis is
increasing in popularity with foreign visitors and a few days can
be filled taking in some entertaining man-made attractions before
heading off to the game parks of the northeast or the coastal
regions. Possibly the most interesting diversion in Johannesburg is
a 'Heritage Route' or 'Shebeen Crawl' tour of Soweto, but take care
only to venture into the maze of the township with an organised
tour or professional guide.

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